NHL News: Avs lose captain Gabriel Landeskog after knee surgery, Marcus Foligno fined, and Joel Edmundson returns
The Daily Goal Horn
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Today’s NHL News and Notes for Saturday, March 12, 2022 begins with big news concerning the Colorado Avalanche captain.
Gabriel Landeskog will have knee surgery on Monday and be lost to the team for an indefinite period.
Landeskog, 29, is the leading goal scorer for the Avalanche, who sit atop the Western Conference and lead the NHL in points (41-13-5, 87 points) entering Saturday’s games.
NHL News: Gabriel Landeskog to have knee surgery
“Something’s going on with his knee and it’s been bothering for a while, and it’s getting worse. He’s got to get it fixed,” coach Jared Bednar said Saturday, adding the team hoped its captain would return for the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Landeskog ranks fifth on the team with 59 points (30 goals, 29 assists) in 51 games. He played in Thursday’s 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes and had seven shots on goal in nearly 19 minutes on the ice.
Valeri Nichushkin is likely to take Landeskog’s place on the top line.
The No. 2 overall selection by Colorado in the 2011 NHL Draft, Landeskog has scored 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 games.
The Avalanche will host the Calgary Flames on Sunday.
Wild forward Marcus Foligno fined for kneeing
The NHL fined Minnesota Wild forward Marcus Foligno $5,000 on Saturday for kneeing Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jakub Voracek.
The penalty is the maximum allowable under the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
Foligno delivered the hit to Voracek late in the third period of Friday’s game. There was no penalty called on the play.
Voracek left the contest briefly before returning the bench, however he did not play in the remainder of the Blue Jackets’ 3-2 shootout win in Columbus.
The 30-year-old Foligno was suspended two games last month for kneeing Adam Lowry of the Winnipeg Jets.
Foligno has recorded career-high totals in goals (19), points (31) and penalty minutes (95) in 53 games this season, his fifth with Minnesota and 11th in the NHL.
Joel Edmundson makes season debut for Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens defenseman Joel Edmundson will make his season debut Saturday night against the visiting Seattle Kraken.
“He’s a solid, tough-to-play-against defenseman,” Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis said of Edmundson Saturday morning. “I’m looking forward to getting him back into some action.”
Edmundson has battled a back injury this season, and he also left the team for a bit to spend time with his cancer-stricken father. Bob Edmundson died in January at age 61.
Joel Edmundson, 28, recorded 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 55 games last season.
A Stanley Cup winner with St. Louis, Edmundson has 85 points (23 goals, 62 assists) in 392 career games with the Blues (2015-19), Carolina Hurricanes (2019-20) and Canadiens.
–Field Level Media